Riding is such a funny thing, guys. Like. Sometimes I can maybe be proficient or whatever. And sometimes I just like... straight up forget to even try lol.
look at this sweet cute thing!
Like watching the video from last weekend of us trotting and cantering around in the Voltaire trial saddle... I was like, "Wow was I even thinking about trying to ride well? Or was I just so surprised to be cantering in the dressage ring that my mind literally went completely blank??"
oooookie dokie haha, let's take a quick pictorial review of practicing the canter circle from Intro C -- starting with this lovely shot of us falling in wayyyy off the wall haha
Not that Doozy seems to much care, to be honest. If anything, she's a little more relaxed when I'm kinda just mindlessly tinkering around with her. Bc I guess sometimes when I try really hard to focus on my position or whatever, I start introducing more tension and rigidity into the equation?
pictures are so helpful in isolating small but important opportunities that can sometimes get lost in the moment
But ya know. It's also true that our circles are more... circular (ahem) when I am more proactive about steering and balance. And it's also true that Doozy can achieve better balance and rhythm when she's better prepared for each step.
we figured out how to trot again, hallelujah haha
And it's also also true that Doozy seems to prefer more snug inseam + thigh contact from me. Which, let's be real, is probably just bc thinking about having that thigh contact keeps my seat a little more still and stabilized overall. Regardless, the horse seems to like it.
rinse and repeat -- still leaning but honestly a relatively smooth transition
All this to say, it's always a balancing act. Yea, I kinda want to lighten up on the intensity and pressure in our rides right now to "get back to the basics." But ya know. I still need to remember to actually ride lol.
eventually i'll stop being caught off guard when doozy doesn't just automatically execute a circular pattern without being piloted LOL
Practicing figures is proving to be a really useful structure to help, too. Especially now that we're riding more often outside the confines of the 20x40m indoor.... it's becoming increasingly clear that the walls are more influential in helping us achieve a 20m circle than is ideal LOL.
feeling ok about this picture, tho ya know, falling out isn't such a big deal when there's a WALL right there lol... might be a different feeling if it were just a little dressage court board haha
I also want to get a little more disciplined in our transitions. Recall we recently went thru a phase where Doozy didn't really want to trot, and would constantly slip into canter. Partly bc she's just a forward thinking horse and cantering is more fun than trotting... But also partly bc the aid to get Doozy to canter is basically just to 'think' and 'allow' lol, and she goes!
learning to transition down! one day i'll figure out how to stay tall while doing so haha
All that to say, we had another ride this week where I asked a friend to snag some video to help me evaluate the saddle (this is the Amerigo!), and figured I'd use the opportunity to do a practice session on those weird canter circles from Intro C. For the uninitiated -- this movement calls for trotting into a 20m circle at A,
developing working
canter in first quarter
of the circle, then coming back to trot before finishing the circle.
trit trotting around to change directions
So we ran through the pattern a couple times in both directions (all in the video below!), and it was illuminating haha.
whoops, misfired!! 100% expect to see this happening in actual tests too...
Our circles are.... not good. But I'm also like... Very clearly not doing my part to fix that. In both directions, we fall in on the circle in the transition up into canter, and then fall out of the circle in the second half. I neither try to hold us out in the first half, nor do I appear to be proactive when crossing X to try to hold the round shape. And thus, we squircle. Charming, right?
that's better! emma, shorten your reins!
Tho, obvi, there's more to it than just ineffective riding. Watching the video frame by frame helps me see more of the mechanics in what Doozy is actually doing. And ya know. She's going like a green, untrained, and under-developed ottb: leaning on her shoulders and trailing a bit behind, vs stepping up and under from her hind end to hold herself up in the turns.
cutie pie!
The transitions themselves actually went a bit better than I expected tho!! The upward transition is relatively fluid, none of the flamboyant sass I used to get with Isabel, or the labored heave-ho from Charlie. Downward transition maybe needs better preparation -- tho actually the first couple steps of trot after the downward seem quite pleasant!
lolzzz less cute haha goodness gracious a few things are going wrong here!
It's like in that exact moment, Doozy is able to find the gear for pushing in the trot, vs pulling. But then we kinda lose it out the front door and start running again. Methinks it's all still related to helping her learn to transfer more balance to her hind quarters.
all in good time, amirite?
So ya know. We continue with "going through the movements" so to speak... Tho with a gentle reminder to myself that providing clearer guidance to Doozy is good and normal and helpful, and not the same thing as putting more pressure on her. And that I shouldn't wait until after the fact, after the squircle (lol) to be like, "ooh maybe I should have better prepared for that!" Haha....
The horse honestly feels pretty good tho. Increasingly chill vibes. Happy to do the work, open to input and influence from yours truly lol. And she overall continues to grow in confidence with recognizing riding patterns and exercises. Like she's not "waiting for the other shoe to drop" anymore.
quite enjoying this trial saddle!
Not sure we're gonna knock the socks off any dressage judges quite yet with our somewhat chaotic execution of the patterns lol... But, eh, when has that ever stopped me from giving it a shot anyway, right?
Do you like practicing dressage tests or specific movements from tests in your regular riding too?
I've ridden plenty of "squircles" of my own. Amazing how such a seemingly simple movement is not so simple to execute well. I, too, like practicing entire tests or specific movements. There's a couple of organizations that post gaited horse specific tests. And of course a standard Intro test can be ridden walk-gait instead of walk-trot. Once recorded, I've sent a few tests to a professional for review and to an online show to see the score sheet. I enjoy the feedback, even negative feedback. Gives me plenty to work on. It's especially helpful as I ride almost entirely by myself without professional eyes on the ground.
agreed that the feedback is so useful --- that's a bit how i use videos like this, tho realistically it's important to occasionally get outside opinions too! also, glad i'm not the only squircler LOL!!
Dude, circles are hard. It requires balance and adjusting practically every stride. I like riding pieces of tests but rarely the whole test. Like halt@x, turn left, lengthen across diagonal.
saaaaaame!! i'll usually ride a test from start to stop at least once, just bc sometimes there are pieces that catch me a bit off guard or by surprise when strung together... but generally, i'm like you -- mostly just doing little pieces or segments at a time
Man she is a million times more relaxed and soft through her back than even a month ago! You guys are looking so lovely, whatever approach you're taking seems to be working.
I take a similar approach to tests. I ride them through at least twice and then practice the parts that are particularly tricky (ie canter to trot to stretchy circle to walk) multiple times. Or school that same sequence in different spots in the ring.
ha ok that's super reassuring to hear as an observation.. i was starting to get the feeling that we were "training in" too much tension and stress, so i've kinda changed things up a little bit. like, realistically i don't think anything was wrong with what we were doing, but there wasn't enough flexibility in the system for an imperfect rider (me!!), ya know? so we're just stepping back to focus on relaxation and getting our reps in, and see where that gets us lol
I love practicing my tests over and over because it soothes my poor little lizard brain. Thunder is great for this because he memorises the test but doesn't anticipate. Arwen rides a test twice, knows it better than I do, and would like to execute it at DragonSpeed, thank you very much. Needless to say, Thunder practices them a lot more than Arwen does lol
I've ridden plenty of "squircles" of my own. Amazing how such a seemingly simple movement is not so simple to execute well. I, too, like practicing entire tests or specific movements. There's a couple of organizations that post gaited horse specific tests. And of course a standard Intro test can be ridden walk-gait instead of walk-trot. Once recorded, I've sent a few tests to a professional for review and to an online show to see the score sheet. I enjoy the feedback, even negative feedback. Gives me plenty to work on. It's especially helpful as I ride almost entirely by myself without professional eyes on the ground.
ReplyDeleteagreed that the feedback is so useful --- that's a bit how i use videos like this, tho realistically it's important to occasionally get outside opinions too! also, glad i'm not the only squircler LOL!!
DeleteDude, circles are hard. It requires balance and adjusting practically every stride. I like riding pieces of tests but rarely the whole test. Like halt@x, turn left, lengthen across diagonal.
ReplyDeletesaaaaaame!! i'll usually ride a test from start to stop at least once, just bc sometimes there are pieces that catch me a bit off guard or by surprise when strung together... but generally, i'm like you -- mostly just doing little pieces or segments at a time
DeleteMan she is a million times more relaxed and soft through her back than even a month ago! You guys are looking so lovely, whatever approach you're taking seems to be working.
ReplyDeleteI take a similar approach to tests. I ride them through at least twice and then practice the parts that are particularly tricky (ie canter to trot to stretchy circle to walk) multiple times. Or school that same sequence in different spots in the ring.
ha ok that's super reassuring to hear as an observation.. i was starting to get the feeling that we were "training in" too much tension and stress, so i've kinda changed things up a little bit. like, realistically i don't think anything was wrong with what we were doing, but there wasn't enough flexibility in the system for an imperfect rider (me!!), ya know? so we're just stepping back to focus on relaxation and getting our reps in, and see where that gets us lol
DeleteI love practicing my tests over and over because it soothes my poor little lizard brain. Thunder is great for this because he memorises the test but doesn't anticipate. Arwen rides a test twice, knows it better than I do, and would like to execute it at DragonSpeed, thank you very much. Needless to say, Thunder practices them a lot more than Arwen does lol
ReplyDelete